Chapter 36 The Troubles in King's Landing (1)
Eddard sat anxiously at the long table of the Royal Council, listening to Janos Slynt, the commander of the City Guard, complaining, "The Prime Minister's tourney attracted countless knights, squires, and a group of commoners. , Humph! Don’t even think about it! Yes, don’t even think about it!”
As of today, the number of thefts in King's Landing has soared to hundreds, and there are countless street fights and armed duels. What's more, a group of outsiders dared to rob a tavern in the city, ruining the tavern owner's daughter, killing people and stealing goods. It is said that This group of robbers is still haunting the Wangling area.
"Genos, the Prime Minister and the Imperial Council here only heard your complaints and did not hear any rectification measures. If this continues, I have a recommendation for the commander of the City Guard." Renly said maliciously. Said, without leaving much face to Genos.
Genos blushed, "Lord Renly, with all due respect, in the current situation in King's Landing, five hundred golden robes will not be enough to maintain law and order. I need manpower." He looked at Eddard, "I heard that There are many northerners under the Prime Minister’s command.”
Ed frowned, "I heard a few days ago that you wanted to get more golden dragons from the treasury to expand the team of golden robes." He looked at Littlefinger, as if seeking confirmation.
"Only a lion can open his mouth. I didn't expect Genos to have the demeanor of a lion." Littlefinger said with a half-smile.
Janos turned his head and said, "Petyr, don't talk nonsense. Now that the number of Golden Robes has reached 6,000, I have to take care of food and drink."
Littlefinger shrugged, showing that he didn't care at all.
"Okay!" Ed really convinced this group of southerners, who had been arguing about this matter for a long time, "The most important thing is the group of bandits who escaped. Where is the prestige of the golden robes? Is there anyone who dares to be lawless?"< br>
Pycelle shuddered and muttered, "It's really scary. Prime Minister, the people of King's Landing and the people of the king's territory need to be safe. I think we should send troops to teach these bandits a lesson."
Wallis was silent, looking down at the table quietly.
"Lord Varys," Ed reluctantly called to the eunuch, "do you know the whereabouts of these bandits?"
Wallis then raised his head, but he shook his head and said with regret, "I'm very sorry, Prime Minister. My little bird is gentle and kind by nature. I'm afraid he is not as fierce as these bandits, and some may even lose their lives." He Wiping his eyes with his sleeve, he seemed extremely distressed.
Damn it! Ed shouted in his heart.
"Can the City Guard send out men?" Ed asked.
Janos shook his head, "If you blame Targaryen for making this city too big, the six thousand gold robes will have to be doubled to be enough. I'm afraid I won't be able to spare the manpower, and my gold robes Most of them are from unruly backgrounds, and there are few knights, so they may not be able to defeat this group of bandits.”
"You are so incompetent." Renly said disdainfully.
Although Genos was angry, he obviously did not dare to talk back to Renly. He could only look at the Prime Minister silently and suppress his emotions.
"The Prime Minister's three hundred wolf army is more than enough to suppress this group of bandits." Pycelle was calm and composed. He accused Genos and said: "Commander, you should reflect on yourself."
Janos stood there without saying a word. The royal council did not prepare a chair for him. The remaining chairs should have been prepared for Ser Barristan and Stannis who had not yet arrived.
Eddard looked at the Grand Maester's downcast face. He sighed. He didn't expect that the northern soldiers he brought from Winterfell would come in handy so quickly. He opened his mouth to speak.
"The knights I brought from the valley can help the golden robes maintain law and order. As for the bandits in the king's territory, Lord Genos, this matter should depend on your ability." A clear and loud voice came from outside the conference hall door, Ah Tis Arryn walked into the council.
Attis was not polite and sat directly on the chair of the Imperial Council.
Genos frowned, "With all due respect, Duke Attis, how many knights do you have in the valley?"
"I can't think of a hundred people." Attis smiled at Lord Janos.
Genos breathed a sigh of relief, "There are less than a hundred people? Duke Attis, even though the Valley Knights are famous in the Seven Kingdoms, they have too few people to help me maintain security."
"Coupled with the Prime Minister's three hundred northern soldiers, I think these four hundred people are enough to help you maintain law and order." Attis replied.
Genos shook his head again, "Duke, you don't understand the situation in King's Landing"
"Indeed, I naturally don't know King's Landing as well as Commander Genos, but if I were to manage public security, I wouldn't let a group of bandits openly run amok in the city. What's even more incredible is that they escaped. Whose responsibility is this? The responsibility of the prime minister?" Attis asked, looking around at the ministers.
Ed frowned. He felt that it was indeed his responsibility. As Prime Minister, he was the first person responsible. However, he sensed that Attis was about to take action, so he remained silent.
Genos's face was redder than before and he stammered, "Me, King's Landing. This is the prime minister's tourney."
"It's your responsibility, Janos, not to get involved in the Prime Minister's tourney. The tourney was ordered by King Robert. Doesn't the responsibility lie with the king?" Attis pressed.
Genos clenched his fists tightly, and the uniform and armor of his golden robes were shaking.
"Since it is your responsibility, I think it is you who should be responsible for the arrest." Attis said his thoughts. Renly looked at Attis in surprise and tapped his fingers on the table, making a sound.
"I agree." Renly looked at Attis with a smile.
At this time, Pycelle's trembling voice sounded, "Um, Duke Attis, I would like to ask, this is the Royal Council, how can you, ahem, sorry, the old man's problem of paying attention to rules has come again, why can you I don’t think you have the right to break into the Royal Council. Although, ahem, I know you are a distinguished Duke, but the more you do this, the more you must abide by the rules of the kingdom. I’m talking too much, I’m sorry.”
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Attis smiled and looked at the Grand Maester, "Thanks for the reminder, Maester Pycelle." Attis showed the warrant in his hand, "King Robert still values me very much and allows me to enter the Royal Council to assist the Prime Minister in his affairs."
"This brotherhood is amazing." Renly smiled and clapped.
Everyone wanted to agree, but when they saw that it was the king's brother who was speaking, they all closed their mouths and just smiled.
Attis faced Ed, "Lord Ed, I think that since Lord Genos has a deep understanding of his responsibilities, he should be given a chance to change his ways."
"Me, Prime Minister, me!" Genos said hurriedly.
Ed nodded, "Slynt Genos obeys the order." Genos had no choice but to kneel down on one knee.
"You choose a three hundred gold robe and go out to hunt for bandits. You must give me the results." Ed's majestic voice echoed in the meeting hall.
When Genos walked out of the council chamber, there were still many unresolved matters in King's Landing.
"The golden robes in the city, Prime Minister, there are more than five thousand golden robes that need to be taken care of." Renly reminded.
Eddard took a deep breath and rubbed his brow, "Lord Renly, who do you think is more suitable?"
Renly raised his head slightly and looked at Eddard with a smile, "The Golden Robes are extremely corrupt under the management of Lord Janos. I'm afraid it will be difficult to control them."
"You all know this?" Ed asked doubtfully.
Varys raised his eyebrows slightly, "The king also knows, Prime Minister."
"Damn it, Robert knows it too, so why not fix it?" Ed cursed angrily and asked.
"It may not be better to choose a taller one among the short ones. There are too many people trying to win over the person in this position." Littlefinger finally said.
Artis looked at Littlefinger, trying to find something in it, but unfortunately, Littlefinger still had his trademark half-smile.
Renly turned to Attis, "Most of the golden robes are from commoners, and they especially admire heroic knights."
Eddard looked at Renly in surprise, "Let's just say it, Lord Renly." Renly was less than ten years old when he first met him, but now he has grown up, which makes Eddard very uncomfortable. He is too Like Robert in his youth.
"Lord Attis Arryn is worthy of the job," Renly said.
Attis glanced at Renly, and he vaguely felt that there may not be a few potential allies in this city of King's Landing.
"I must remind you that few dukes in history were responsible for the defense of King's Landing." Littlefinger looked at Pycelle, as if seeking confirmation, but the other party ignored him, still lowering his head and squinting.
"It's happening today, isn't it?" Renly looked at Littlefinger with a smile, "Or is it that our Lord Baelish, who is from the noble family of the valley, doesn't trust his lord?"
Attis looked at Littlefinger and remained silent. He felt that he had said enough today. The Eyrie City had never been so noisy, Attis thought to himself.
Littlefinger lowered his head with a smile, "I don't dare."
Ed didn't understand, but he just felt that the Royal Council was not as monolithic as he thought, serving the kingdom. He waved his hand and said: "In that case, Attis Arryn, are you able to take on this important task?"
Attis did not kneel down on one knee like Genos, but just sat at the table and nodded to Ed with a smile: "I am honored, Lord Ed."
"Then it's settled, just step back and we'll discuss the rest later." Ed threw away his hand in disgust, and the hand that had been holding the pen all morning felt a little stiff.
Eddard's fifty Winterfell guards were waiting in the outer courtyard of the Red Keep. When Eddard appeared, they all protected him and left in formation.
The direwolf flag was flying over the Red Keep, and three hundred northern soldiers were guarding the Red Keep. At the suggestion of Attis, the Red Keep only had fifty Barathes brought by Robert from Storm's End. The Royal Guards, as well as less than a hundred Lannister red robes guarding the queen, the remaining two hundred gold robes were all driven to patrol the streets of King's Landing.
Renly walked up behind Attis, "Attis, Duke." He walked up to Attis with a smile, "The Prime Minister has brought many brave soldiers from the north."
Attis nodded slightly to Renly, "In order to ensure the safety of the Prime Minister and his family, this is the king's tacit approval."
"In addition to eating, drinking, whoring and gambling, my eldest brother probably doesn't care about how many people his dear Eddard brings from the north. He just feels that someone can finally help him deal with these troubles." Renly said with a smile.
Attis chuckled twice and agreed, and then he thanked Renly: "Thank you very much for the royal meeting."
"That's right. The former Prime Minister is Robert's adoptive father. You are my brother. How can brothers not help each other." Renly continued to smile.
Renly paused and looked down at the ground, "It is a good thing that King's Landing is handed over to trustworthy people, but I have observed that the Prime Minister brought so many soldiers from the north to King's Landing, and it seems that he is not just responsible for security."
Attis knew that this was Renly's purpose, and his previous recommendation was just a foreshadowing for this exchange of interests.
"The forces in King's Landing are very complex, but also very simple. Look at the flag on the Red Keep, Lord Renly, and you will probably understand what the Prime Minister wants to do." Attis did not answer directly. His most important task now is Clean the golden robes, cut redundant personnel, and arrange people in the valley. Secondly, Attis narrowed his eyes. Weimar and Robert had brought dozens of former Seagull Town customs officers to King's Landing. Attis knew that this could not be hidden. Varys, he didn’t intend to hide it either.
When Renly heard this, he looked at the flags on the Red Keep tower. Most of them were the symbolic Baratheon crown stag flag, followed by the direwolf flag, and then the Lannister gold lion on a red background. banner.
Lannister? Renly thought to himself as he looked at Attis in confusion.
"I think I have said enough, Lord Renly.", Attis said.
Renly thought thoughtfully, then smiled, "Then I won't disturb you, Attis, Commander in Gold Robes." He raised his hand slightly, bowed, and left Attis' side.
Attis stood there silently for a long time. The layout of King's Landing had begun since Attis received his father's order and left King's Landing. This place was like a cage. The eagle was not allowed to raise its wings proudly here. The eagle was not allowed to fly. Searching for his prey in the skies here, Attis originally thought that his family was his most trusted backer. It was not until the end that Attis discovered that his only support was his father. Now, he has become someone else's support.
The majestic building of the Red Keep stands on one of the hills in King's Landing. The blue sky is spotless. It seems that the weather is always sunny, unlike the changeable climate on the rugged Moon Mountains in the valley. The gentle sunshine shines warmly on the crowded city of King's Landing. King's Landing, which has almost the same population as the North, is full of hustle and bustle. Unlike the Eyrie, you can quietly listen to the sweet water of Alyssa's Tears Falls. He likes quietness, and this is true for Eagle's Nest City, and also for Runestone City, which has strict hierarchies and strict rules. However, he came to a noisy city and took on responsibilities that he did not need to bear at this age.
At this time, he was extremely envious of little Robin and Robb, who was also the eldest son of the Duke.
Attis took a deep breath, and his eyes became sharp again. The Red Castle was filled with the scent of the noble women's perfume. The wind blew into his nose, which was in stark contrast to the unpleasant stench of the bustling crowd outside the Red Castle. contrast. Attis waved and held his breath, no longer bothered by some childish thoughts. He strode forward, and the blue cloak symbolizing the Arryn family seemed to be covered with gold dust and shone brightly.
(End of chapter)