Chapter 429 Highgarden Rose

"The Sea Serpents are good at fighting. I think it is feasible to plan a counterattack by land and sea."

Viserys asked as he spoke.

Rhaegar did not reply immediately.

The main force of the counterattack at sea is the Sea Serpents' fleet and Aegon Sunfyre.

Control the sea power. The fleet will go around the Summer Sea in the south of Dorne, enter the inland along the mouth of the Greenblood River, and attack and capture the town of Plank.

Plank is an important town in Dorne. The Martell family is in charge of it and occupies more than half of the maritime trade.

If the Sea Serpents capture Plank, the fleet will control the right to cross the Greenblood River, and it will be able to cut off the east and west of Dorne.

At that time, Sunspear, located in the east of Dorne, will become an isolated city without the support of the nobles in the west of Dorne.

Seeing his eldest son pondering, Viserys did not urge him.

Tyran looked around and reported actively in a low voice: "Lord Corliss wants us to break through the Prince's Pass or the Bone Road, lead the army directly into the interior of Dorne, and defeat the nobles in the west of Dorne."

The Greenblood River is still the dividing line.

As long as the coalition forces of the Reach and the Stormlands break through a road, with the air supremacy of several dragons, they can completely crush the existing defense forces of Dorne.

The land and the fleet cooperate to completely control the "fat" Dorne.

Rhaegar raised his eyebrows and said seriously: "The strategy is perfect. According to this idea, it is easy to take Sunspear."

"I think so too."

Viserys was a little proud.

He agreed with the plan of the sea snakes, which was very bold and direct.

The success of the conquest of the Three Women's Kingdom gave him the confidence that he could succeed in invading Dorne.

He, Viserys I.

To complete the long-cherished wish that the conqueror failed to complete, to completely conquer Dorne!

"I will go to Highgarden soon and recruit an army of 10,000 people to counterattack from the Prince's Pass."

Rhaegar had not given up the weighing and gave an idea.

Viserys' eyes lit up and asked, "Is the sea serpent's proposal correct?"

Without the discussion of the royal council, he was more willing to trust his eldest son's judgment.

Rhaegar frowned and hesitated, "The sea serpent's strategy is great, but it has the urge of revenge."

"What do you mean?"

"We can't afford to support Dorne if we conquer it."

"It's conquest."

"After conquering it, we can't afford it."

The father and son asked and answered, both with bitter faces.

Rhaegar propped up his chin with one hand and smacked his lips, "The Three Women's Kingdom has not yet been put on the right track. If we really conquer Dorne, the tens of thousands of disaster victims alone can empty the treasury."

This is still the premise that Dorne is loyal to the Iron Throne.

Use the past to reflect the present.

Aegon the Conqueror launched the Dorne War, which lasted for several years. During this period, the bloody and cruel "Dragon's Wrath" was carried out, and Dorne towns were burned indiscriminately.

Even if the country almost collapsed, the Dornish still refused to surrender.

Switch to the present.

Rhaegar is confident that he can defeat the entire Dorne and place nobles loyal to the Iron Throne to manage it.

However, Dorne's territory is vast, with windy and sandy deserts everywhere.

The disobedient Dornish people will immediately reappear the stalemate of the First Dorne War once they drill into the desert.

They will lie on Targaryen like a leech, sucking blood all the time.

The Iron Throne manages Dorne while guarding against resistance forces.

In addition, the army's supply line is too long, whether it is transported from the Reach or the Stormlands, it must pass through the long desert.

As one thing grows, the other loses, and the Iron Throne will be very empty.

Upon hearing this, Viserys was surprised and said, "The three kingdoms have surrendered. Now is a golden opportunity."

Take advantage of the morale of the Narrow Sea War to take Dorne in one fell swoop.

Rhaegar thought for a moment and said, "Father, instead of magnifying the war, it is better to give Dorne a head-on blow."

"The Iron Throne needs to recuperate. When the three kingdoms restore order and unite with the Stepstones to control the sea power in the lower half of the Narrow Sea, Dorne will be completely isolated and helpless."

"At that time, sending more people to the Reach and Stormlands to cut off the connection between Dorne's sea and land will be the best way to catch a turtle in a jar."

There is more than one way to fight a war.

It may be a good idea to start with economic pressure.

Viserys was stunned and thought about his eldest son's strategy.

The Targaryen territory has crossed the Narrow Sea and controls the rich disputed land.

It is better to confine Dorne for a few years than to exhaust the national strength and fight Dorne who resists stubbornly.

Dorn's grain production is not high, and losing maritime trade is simply a slow death.

After a while, Viserys' eyes sparkled and he nodded vigorously.

He agreed with his eldest son's proposal.

Tyran took the opportunity to raise his glass and laughed: "Give Dorne a hard blow!"

"Cheers!..."

...

Highgarden.

A white marble castle, located on a flat hillside, with three solid circular walls built from the inside to the outside.

The lowest wall surrounds the entire foot of the mountain, and there is a carefully arranged plant maze between it and the second wall.

It is used to entertain guests and have fun.

Because of the castle's special shape and luxurious decoration, it is known as the most beautiful castle in Westeros.

Today, the White Castle welcomes two distinguished guests.

"Hiss——"

"Hiss..."

The black dragon in front and the light blue dragon behind flew across the endless plains and chased over the sky of High Court.

At the gate of the third wall of High Court.

Two young and beautiful ladies looked up and led a group of servants and guards to wait for a long time.

"Land!"

The clear voice of the young man came, like a clear spring.

The glutton's green eyes were indifferent, circling around the wall as if no one was around, and slowly landed at the gate.

Whoosh——

As soon as the giant landed, it raised a cloud of dust.

"Hiss..."

Menghuo was agile, landing on one side first, leaning over to help the driver climb down the dragon's back.

At the gate, a group of people hurriedly moved.

Margaery's eyes lit up slightly, and she smiled like a flower as she stepped forward, her red lips slightly parted: "Dear prince and princess, welcome to Highgarden."

As she spoke, she took Helena's hand despite the maid's obstruction.

The two girls held hands and were approaching the creeping dream fire. The dragon odor similar to sulfur could be clearly smelled.

Helena wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled back.

At this time, Rhaegar got off the dragon's back.

Another older woman with a beautiful and generous appearance came over and knelt down to salute: "Your Highness Rhaegar of Targaryen, I send you my sincere greetings on behalf of my husband. It is an honor for you to come."

Rhaegar took a subtle look at him and pretended not to know him.

Margaery stood hand in hand with Helena, smiling and introducing: "Elissa Redwyne, my father's new wife, the new mistress of Highgarden."

Elissa knelt again and said politely: "My father once fought alongside you, I say hello to you on his behalf."

"You're welcome, ma'am."

Rhaegar smiled.

Elissa was about twenty years old, a daughter of the Redwyne family, and was chosen to marry the fifty-year-old old Tyrell.

I heard that she was a very opinionated woman.

Margaery smiled happily, always keeping the rhythm, and said: "The sun is scorching, please enter the castle, the servants have prepared iced sweet fruit wine."

Rhaegar said: "The guest is at the host's convenience."

Under the reception of the mother and daughter, the Targaryen brothers and sisters entered Highgarden.

Margaery also intimately instructed the guards to provide cattle and sheep to feed the two huge dragons.

Helena thanked him and was held by the other party's hand and chatted all the way.

Rhaegar had no sense of participation and was just enjoying the beauty of Highgarden.

Even after coming here many times, Highgarden was still beautiful.

It was like a green paradise, with flowers blooming everywhere, and gardens, pools, and artificial waterfalls dotted the entire castle.

Various rare flowers and plants were planted all over the world, and stone carvings, fountains, and marble columns were everywhere. Grapes and gun butts decorated the walls and sculptures, and the ancient buildings were carefully covered with vines.

Everything was so beautiful and full of vitality.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Lady Elisa asked softly.

Realizing that the other party was talking to him, Rhaegar smiled faintly and did not comment.

Lady Elisa picked a petal and said, "As the motto of the Tyrell family, life is endless."

Rhaegar was surprised and agreed, "That's right."

Lady Elisa smiled and chatted for a few more words, maintaining her elegant ladylike temperament.

Rhaegar looked at Margaery and Helena in front of him, and then glanced at Lady Alyssa who was alone, secretly complaining: "It seems that being a stepmother is not easy anywhere."

Especially a stepmother who plans to give birth to a child to inherit the family business.

...

While walking and chatting on the road, we got a lot of information.

Old Tyrell was not in Highgarden, leading several loyal ministers to Oldtown to recruit soldiers on behalf of the Iron Throne.

After receiving Rhaegar's letter of guest, he rushed back without stopping.

Margaery opened her big watery eyes and said coquettishly: "Father is not here, please stay for two days."

Rhaegar found her poor acting funny.

He didn't say much and agreed.

After leaving Black Harbor, he passed by Prince's Pass and inspected it.

Compared with the steep Bone Road, Prince's Pass gathered a larger number of victims, and even riding a dragon could not see the end at a glance.

With the current fortress garrison, it would be difficult to stop tens of thousands of hungry victims without the support of the Reach.

But don't worry.

Highgarden is not far from Nightsong in a straight line, and the fortress is not easy to break through, so it's okay to wait for a day or two.

Rhaegar asked, "How many troops can be recruited this time?"

"Hmm~"

Margaery blinked and thought, "This time there are Rowan, Caswell, Tully family, etc., probably 10,000 people can be recruited, most of them are infantry."

Rhaegar nodded, secretly thinking that the Reach is really rich.

During the Narrow Sea War, the Reach provided reinforcements of 20,000 soldiers.

In addition, there are 10,000 coalition fleets provided by Hightower, Redwyne, and the Shield Islands.

It's just that the combat effectiveness is not good enough.

These troops were evenly distributed in Tyros and Lys, and the two sieges consumed most of them.

Thinking about it, Rhaegar shook his head and shook off the bad picture.

In an invasion campaign against the Three Kingdoms, the number of casualties in Westeros exceeded 50,000.

The number of casualties on the side of the Three Kingdoms was even more numerous, and it is estimated that no less than 100,000.

Among these people, Rhaegar burned at least 30,000 to 40,000 people.

Killing too many people made him feel uncomfortable.

This is also one of the reasons why Rhaegar didn't want to capture Dorne and increase the number of casualties.

War affects people's will.

Not only the Iron Throne needs to slow down, Rhaegar also wants to take a break.

...

Soon, a reception was held.

In the godswood of Highgarden, the servants pulled open the sunshade and set up a banquet by the pool.

Rhaegar and Helena simply washed and changed their clothes with the smell of dragons, and attended the warm welcome party.

"Come here, there are plenty of ice buckets to cool off."

Margaery squeezed between the brother and sister, leading the way with her arms folded.

It was August, and the weather in the Reach was like an old lady's vest, stuffy and hot.

A layer of black sunshade was laid in the garden, but it was still difficult to withstand the scorching sun.

In order to make the guests happy, the servants provided an ice bucket at each table to eliminate the heat of midsummer.

Rhaegar broke free from the soft touch under the light gauze, picked up a red grape and put it into his mouth, admiringly: "It's worthy of Highgarden, it's really rich."

Ice buckets were provided throughout the banquet, and the amount was frightening.

The reserves in the ice cellar of the Red Keep were less than one-tenth of those in Highgarden.